Indiana Hoosiers at Ohio State Buckeyes: the rematch (preview).

Barely two weeks after IU knocked off Ohio State for the Hoosiers' biggest Big Ten win in four seasons, IU heads to Columbus for the rematch. OSU has gone 2-1 since the loss to IU, whipping Nebraska (at home) and Iowa (on the road) but losing to Illinois on the road this week. Not much has changed about the teams in the two weeks since the last game. Ohio State still presents a tough matchup for IU at every position, and the Buckeyes now will have homecourt advantage. On the plus side for IU, the Hoosiers will have the services of Will Sheehey, who played very well against Minnesota in his first action in over three weeks.

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This is, simply, the toughest game on IU's schedule. OSU and Kentucky are the only clear NCAA title contenders on IU's schedule, and this one is on the road. This one would be penciled in as a likely loss for any team in the country. A loss is not the end of the world, by any means, although it will sting a bit more because of the Minnesota loss and the world of difference between 4-2 and 3-3. The most important thing for IU, win or lose, is to rediscover some of the defensive effectiveness that allowed IU to start 15-1. Unfortunately, the defense has been very poor in Big Ten play. IU ranks #12 in the conference in defensive efficiency (in conference games only), is now in the black in turnovers, and is allowing opponents to shoot 55 percent from two point range. IU remains the nation's top three point shooting team overall, and even Thursday night's rough performance didn't knock IU out of the top position in Big Ten games. This team shoots well enough to win several games on the strength of its three point shooting alone, but a team that relies on nothing but that is susceptible to a bad home loss like the Minnesota game is going to happen from time to time. We've seen what this team is capable of defensively, and hopefully they can begin to regain that tomorrow, even if it isn't likely to produce a win.